Bahrain Is Quietly Becoming One Of The Arab Spring's Most Violent Uprisings

MUHAZZA VILLAGE, Bahrain — After nearly two years of frustration,
the Arab Spring uprising against Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa al
Khalifa, a key US ally, is growing increasingly tense.

Following a series of brutal government crackdowns, young
protesters who say they have little choice are taking a more
militant approach, and in some cases, resorting to violence.

In late October, Bahrain’s conservative monarchy banned all
demonstrations, but human rights activists estimate that at least
100 illegal protests have been held since then.

At 7 p.m. sharp on a recent night here in Muhazza, a small
village just outside the capital, residents gathered for one such
show of discontent. The scene appeared peaceful: old men in long,
white robes stood calmly next to children wearing jeans, T-shirts
and baseball caps. Women completely covered in black hijab sat
nearby, shouting slogans against the all-powerful Bahraini
monarch.

But for the traditional opposition, there was a troubling new
contingent of young men, their faces covered in checkered
headscarves. They circled the outskirts of the rally, disdainful
of their elders entreaties to remain peaceful. This night they
did not engage in violence. But in other villages, youth have
hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police.

Activists say this more militant trend is gaining support as
nonviolent tactics fail to yield results.

“They are a real force in the movement now,” said Ali Salman,
leader of the Al Wefaq Islamic Society, the largest opposition
group in Bahrain. “We tell them to remain nonviolent, but some
don’t listen.”

In most countries, the low-key Muhazza protest would barely
interest law enforcement. Here, in less than 10 minutes, police
fired tear gas. The crowd fled into nearby stores and apartments.
Children and seniors stayed indoors. But within a few minutes,
everyone else poured back into the streets, shouting “Allah
Akbar” (God is Great).

This night’s action repeats itself frequently in Muhazza.
Villagers say they have been under siege for six weeks. Police
set up checkpoints in Muhazza during the day, and conduct raids
at night.

Many Bahrainis want a change in the country’s authoritarian
government. This small island nation — next door to Saudi
Arabia and home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet — has had
the same unelected prime minister for 41 years. The parliament
has little real power. The government arbitrarily arrests
dissenters, deprives some of citizenship, and has tortured
several to death, according to the Bahrain Independent Commission
of Inquiry.

Inspired by the Arab Spring, traditional opposition parties have
been peacefully gathering in the streets to call for reform for
almost two years. But these days, the mood is changing. One young
Muhazza protester named Ahmed, who gave only his first name,
called for direct confrontation against the regime.

“King Hamad is a criminal,” he said. “He’s responsible for
killing people. He and his family control the whole country and
its wealth.”

Opposition leaders acknowledge that a growing number of youth are
turning to more militant tactics. In one incident, the government
says demonstrators killed a policeman.

In another, five bombs went off in Manama, the capital, killing
two migrant workers. The government blamed the incidents on
demonstrators, but Al Wefaq’s Salman questioned whether they were
actually responsible for those deaths. He noted that the
government has not allowed an independent investigation.

Even if there are isolated incidents, he said, the government
exaggerates the violence to justify more repression. Salman said
his organization continue to advocate non-violence.

“We are against the violence from the community or the police,”
he said. He noted that a large majority of people “demand
peaceful demonstrations.”

Analysts say the opposition movement is highly unlikely to turn
to armed struggle as happened in Libya and Syria.
Bahrain has strict gun control laws and smuggling arms to the
island nation isn’t easy. However, the young militants do pose a
political problem for the traditional leadership, according to
Fred Wehrey, a senior associate in the Middle
East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace.

“The youth-driven violence has already been used by the regime to
tar and discredit the opposition as a whole,” he said in an email
interview. “It is also putting pressure on Al Wefaq to be more
maximalist in its demands with the regime.”

Salman admits that his group is feeling that pressure. Al Wefaq
held its first open defiance of the demonstration ban with a Dec.
7 rally that attracted thousands. The demonstration was held away
from downtown Manama so as not to unduly provoke the government.
But it was still attacked by security forces.

Abdul-Aziz al Khalifa, a government spokesperson, argued that
violent protests have become the norm, and that’s why authorities
banned all demonstrations.

“Instead of letting things spiral out of control and have total
anarchy on the street,” he said, the government implemented “a
temporary suspension of these marches and protests.”

Opposition leaders point out that the “temporary” demonstration
ban has no expiration date.

Al Khalifa noted that Bahrain has an important, strategic
alliance with the United
States. The headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet is
stationed here to protect oil shipping lanes and assert US
presence in the region. The Fifth Fleet was used during the first
Gulf War, the Iraq War and the Afghanistan
War. It would also play a key role in any military attack
on Iran.
Given the base’s critical command and control functions,
relocating elsewhere would be quite difficult, according to
Wehrey.

Now, however, some opposition activists question the
headquarters’ presence, accusing the United States of a double
standard. While the administration of US President Barack Obama
imposes strong economic sanctions on Syria’s dictatorship, they
say, it only verbally criticizes Bahrain’s monarchy.

“Unfortunately the UK and US only think about a barrel of oil,
not human rights,” said Ebrahim Karimi, an opposition leader who
recently had his citizenship revoked by the government.

Karimi said activists are rethinking the traditional support for
the US Navy because “the US government supports the Bahrain
government, selling arms. That is something we can’t accept.”

In September last year, the Obama administration suspended
delivery of a $53 million arms package to the military, objecting
to Bahrain’s human rights violations. However, the administration
resumed the arms sales in May 2012, claiming progress on the
human rights front and that the arms would be used only for
external defense.

Opposition leaders point out that the United States supplied
Humvees to the military, and some were used to suppress
demonstrations last year, along with tear gas.

Salman, the leader of the Al Wefaq opposition group, said the
United States should back the opening of a UN Human Rights office
in Manama. It could impose “banking sanctions against the
government,” as they do against Syria. “They can do a lot more,”
he said.

Back at the Muhazza rally, Ahmed said activists are now also
questioning whether the US Fifth Fleet should pull out.

“We want them to leave because the US supports the dictatorship,”
he said. “If they don’t support the dictatorship, they are
welcome.”

The younger militants are more critical of US policy, while the
older, more moderate leaders tend to be supportive. The outcome
of the Arab Spring uprising in Bahrain is by no means certain.
But if the opposition comes to power, they will want to see a
democratically elected parliament vote on the presence of the
Fifth Fleet in their country.